Jo-Ann Stores hires more holiday workers

Jo-Ann Stores hires more holiday workers, says customer traffic is strong

• On 4:24 pm EST, Tuesday November 10, 2009

HUDSON, Ohio (AP) -- Craft store operator Jo-Ann Stores Inc. on Tuesday said it's hired more seasonal employees this year, expecting strong holiday customer traffic.

Seasonal hires rose 18.1 percent from last year, the company said.

Jo-Ann said it has hired 2,779 workers, accounting for 13.4 percent of total staff.

"This increase is a result of our recent sales trend and expectations for holiday traffic in our stores," said Travis Smith, chief operations officer.

Last week, the company said sales at stores open more than a year rose 4.3 percent in the third quarter because of a growing trend in handmade holiday gifts.